Explore
Hosea 14
A plea: Return to God
14 Return, Israel, to the Lord your God;
you have stumbled because of your wickedness.
2 Prepare to speak
and return to the Lord;
say to the Lord,
“Forgive all wickedness;
and receive the good.
Instead of bulls,
let us offer what we can say:
3 Assyria won’t save us;
we won’t ride upon horses;
we will no longer say, ‘Our God,’
to the work of our hands.
In you the orphan finds compassion.”Divine promise of healing
4 I will heal their faithlessness;
I will love them freely,
for my anger has turned from them.
5 I will be like the dew to Israel;
he will blossom like the lily;
he will cast out his roots like the forests of Lebanon.
6 His branches will spread out;
his beauty will be like the olive tree,
and his fragrance like that of Lebanon.
7 They will again live beneath my shadow,
they will flourish like a garden;
they will blossom like the vine,
their fragrance will be like the wine of Lebanon.
8 Ephraim, what do idols have to do with me?
It is I who answer and look after you.
I am like a green cypress tree;
your fruit comes from me.Be careful
9 Whoever is wise understands these things.
Whoever observes carefully knows them.
Truly, the Lord’s ways are right,
and the righteous will walk in them,
but evildoers will stumble in them.